The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: Difference between revisions

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'''''The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess''''' is the thirteenth game in ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' series. It was released for the [[Game Cube]] and [[Wii]].

The game featured a realistic graphics style that had been eagerly anticipated by fans since ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]]''. The main gimmick is that Link can (eventually) shapeshift at will between his Hylian and wolf forms in order to solve puzzles and pass obstacles. The game also features more complex character development than most other titles have had (Link, in particular, has an actual life before the whole story starts), attempted to include a bit of moral complexity (primarily [[Dark Is Not Evil]]) and is the first to feature a character with near-full voice acting (Midna, even though it's just [[Speaking Simlish|random gibberish]]).

Despite these innovations, ''Twilight Princess'' sticks firmly to the [[Strictly Formula|series formula]] of "Gather first set of [[Plot Coupon|Plot Coupons]]s, Master Sword, gather second set of plot coupons, final dungeon." Defenders point out that every game in the series (even the acclaimed ''Ocarina Of Time'') has followed this formula, while critics argue that on this occasion the formula was detrimental to the game. It has also been criticized for having the most blatant example of [[Hijacked Byby Ganon]] in the series. However, this formula is done much differently in ''Twilight Princess'' in regards to function, as the dungeons have nothing to do with unlocking the Master Sword or awakening Sages, as they did in previous titles. The game is also unusual in the ''Zelda'' canon for having no "magic" bar - indeed, magic has far less of a role in this game than in any other title. There isn't even any real [[Magic Music]], with the only music-creating interface (Howling) being mostly one-time things.

The game's dual-console release is something of a coincidence. Originally developed solely for [[Game Cube]], its development cycle took so long that the Wii was preparing to launch by the time it was done. So a hasty port was made to add ''Twilight Princess'' to the Wii's launch line-up, with the addition of motion controls for the sword and bow so that a swing of the Wii Remote would swing Link's sword. While this was great advertising, Nintendo hit a [[Spanner in Thethe Works]] when they remembered that Link is left-handed, unlike a good 90% of the human race. Their fix was to flop the ''entire game'' left-to-right so that Link would hold his sword in the same hand as most players (ironically, the Wii Remote was the only controller in the [[Console Wars]] that was fully ambidextrous up until the release of Kinect and [[Play StationPlayStation]] Move).

Many fans argue that ''Twilight Princess'' was not intended to revolutionize the series, but to perfect the pre-existing formula introduced in ''Ocarina of Time'' just as ''[[The Legend of Zelda: aA Link Toto Thethe Past|A Link to the Past]]'' perfected the gameplay formula introduced in the original game. Whether or not the game succeeded depends on which side of the [[Broken Base]] you are on. However, the game was well-received by critics, some (including IGN) declaring it the greatest ''Zelda'' game ever.

** Princess Zelda also seemingly [[Took a Level Inin Badass]] in this particular game.

* [[Battle in Thethe Rain]]: The second half of the battle against Argorok takes place on the top of the City in the Sky, during a raging thunderstorm. It's also raining in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle and will occasionally in Hyrule Field. It is likely to rain at least once when you fight Bublin for Colin.

* [[BFGBig Freaking Gun]]: Auru whips out a cannon held like a rocket launcher near the end.

* [[BFSBlade of Fearsome Size]]: Several enemies have one.

* [[Chained Byby Fashion]]: Wolf Link only gets to enjoy a few moments without a manacle chained to his paw. Midna breaks it by the chain rather than the manacle itself, so it somehow becomes a permanent part of his form, as it goes away when Link turns human, only to be there again when he changes back.

{{quote| '''Agitha''': Li'l snail, li'l snail, just once I'd like to take a bath in that slime.}}

* [[Collared Byby Fashion]]: Shad.

* [[Creator Backlash]]: A minor one; Miyamoto and Aonuma don't hate the game at all, but they had envisioned it as being much bigger and grander than it ended up being.

* [[Creepy Child]]: Malo, the unnervingly adult toddler from Ordon Village.

** Also [[I Fight for Thethe Strongest Side|King Bulbin]].

* [[Disney Acid Sequence]]:

* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Despite all evidence to the contrary, Midna actually survives her final battle with Ganon.}}

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: Once Link obtains the second Clawshot, it becomes the "Double Clawshot" -- one—one on each hand.

* [[Due to Thethe Dead]]: After {{spoiler|Ganondorf finally dies, Zelda is seen standing behind Link with her hands folded and her head bowed. The implication is that she's praying for the soul of her departed enemy.}}

* [[Empathic Environment]]: It is [[Grey Rain of Depression|raining]] as you rush a mortally injured Midna to Zelda.

* [[Everything's Better Withwith Chickens|Everything's Better With Cuccos]]: A minor [[Easter Egg]] in the game actually allows you to take control of a cucco in Ordon Village for about ten seconds at a time.

* [[Everything's Better Withwith Monkeys]]: The Forest Temple largely revolves around freeing adorable monkeys from cages so that they can help you out. And if that wasn't enough, the miniboss is a baboon, whose weak spot is his prominent posterior.

* [[Everything's Better Withwith Princesses]]: Aside from Zelda, there is {{spoiler|Midna}} and Agitha, the (self-proclaimed) bug princess.

** In Zelda's case, this is (for once) a [[Justified Trope]], [[All There in the Manual|as explained by the official trading card deck]]. She's the ruler of Hyrule but still only a princess; however, her card explains that her coronation day was only a few days off when Zant invaded. She is actually supposed to be Queen Zelda at this point, but the plot of the game interrupted. (Note that the manual for ''[[Super Smash Bros.]] Brawl'' identifies her as the Queen of Hyrule.)

* [[Game Breaking Bug]]: A flaw in the Wii version's programming can make the game Unwinnable because an NPC wouldn't leave an area to advance the plot. Nintendo gave out replacement discs if the faulty ones were sent in. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140804141132/http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Twilight_Princess_Glitches#Oocca_Cannon_Glitch There is a way to fix it through the use of save file copies.])

* [[Girl in Thethe Tower]]: [[The Man in Thethe Iron Mask (1998 film)|The deposed Zelda]] is found in the highest tower of Hyrule Castle.

* [[Go Back to Thethe Source]]: Link has to return the Master Sword to its pedestal in order to gain access to the Temple of Time.

* [[Go for Thethe Eye]]: Diababa and Morpheel's main weak point. Armogohma is also susceptible to an arrow in the eye, though it's only to make it drop from the ceiling.

* [[Gotta Catch Em All]]:

* [[The High Queen]]: Zelda, probably more so in this game than in any other part of the series. [[Everything's Better Withwith Princesses|Even if she is still technically a princess]].

* [[I Fight for Thethe Strongest Side]]: After losing several matches against Link, during the final dungeon King Bulbin finally declares a draw and just hands over a key to proceed onwards before naming this trope and running off.

* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons]]: The fight with Argorok over the City in the Sky.

* [[Internal Homage]]: In the ''[[The Legend of Zelda (Animatedanimation)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' cartoon, Link would twirl his sword before sheathing it. After doing certain sword moves, the Link in this game will do the same.

* [[Inverse Law of Utility and Lethality]]: After a certain point the Hero's Shade tells you that the rest of the secret techniques he's going to teach you are incredibly powerful, but also very dangerous to perform. They are actually quite useful (the Mortal Draw in particular [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|one]]-[[One Hit KO|shots]] just about everything that isn't a Darknut) but they're also easy to screw up, and you may want to stick with [[Boring but Practical|more pedestrian techniques]] if you're not confident in your ability to use them.

{{quote| '''Midna:''' Anyway, what's with having to light candles to get to the basement?! Not very subtle, is it...}}

* [[Leaning Onon the Fourth Wall]]: During an early cutscene, Midna hums a bar from her own theme song.

* [[Leitmotif]]: Zelda's Lullaby, Midna's theme, Oocco's theme...

** AndZelda's theLullaby, Midna's theme, Oocco's theme... The overworld theme, which could be considered Link's theme as well. Especiallyand since, if you listen closely, you can hearis a variation on the [[The Legend of Zelda (Videovideo Gamegame)|original game]]'s overworld theme in it!.

** Ganondorf too.

** More obviously, several songs from ''[[Ocarina of Time]]'', the Song of Healing from ''[[Majoras Mask]]'' and the [[Warp Whistle|Ballad of Gales]] from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: theThe Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Wind Waker]]'' return as the songs of the golden wolf.

** Also, the {{spoiler|Temple of Time}}'s entrance hall is quite similar to the one in ''[[Ocarina of Time]]'' and a certain cliff at Lake Hylia resembles the coastline of Outset Island from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: theThe Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Wind Waker]]'' a lot, even including a similarly placed lookout.

* [[Narrative Shapeshifting]]: After the first segment in Hyrule Castle, Midna briefly shapeshifts into screaming images of Ilia and Colin to get Link to help her. A bit of [[BigNon LippedSequitur Alligator MomentScene]] since she could easily have made the point without doing it and never displays this ability at any other point in the game.

* [[Nostalgia Level|Nostalgia Section]]: The Temple of Time can be entered through its door. [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Yes, THAT Temple of Time,]] right down to the background music. Now the actual dungeon...

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: Nice job defeating {{spoiler|Armagohma}}, Link, strike that [[Badass]] [[Victory Pose]] and -- whoaand—whoa, hold up!

** Also {{spoiler|Ganondorf. You expelled him from Zelda? Hooray! Oh, wait, now he's transformed into a gigantic beast Ganon. But we slice open his old wound, and he's dead! Oh, damn, now he's some kind of spirit thing. But wait, [[Heroic Sacrifice|Midna will sacrifice herself to blow him up with magic!]] Wait... Son of a... Now he's just regular Ganondorf on a [[Cool Horse|demon horse]]. Okay, we finally made him a Light Arrow pin cushion, he is so de... OH COME ON! [[I Am Not Left -Handed|Now he takes out the sheathed super sword]] and you know you're boned.}} This is also subverted {{spoiler|at the very, very end. You stick a sword in his chest, but Ganondorf stands up looking ready to beat your unarmed ass.... and then keels over and dies.}}

* [[Not So Fast Bucko]]: Congratulations! You've restored all the Light Spirits, banished the Twilight from Hyrule, and recovered those [[Plot Coupon|three thingies]] Midna was looking for so you can match the power of -- waitof—wait a minute, did {{spoiler|Zant just throw them all away? And nearly kill Midna with light? And Link's trapped in his wolf form ''again''}}? (And come to think of it, where's that Master Sword you usually get?)

* [[The Obi-Wan]]: The Hero's Shade, who crosses this with [[Spirit Advisor]], [[Shout -Out|and breathes rather audibly]], just like another [[Star Wars]] character...

* [[Pants -Free]]: Averted, for the first time in the entire series; unlike previous installments, in which Link was either bare-legged or wearing tights, ''Twilight Princess'' definitely gives him pants.

* [[Plot Tailored to Thethe Party]]: To the point that some items become nigh useless once their plot function is fulfilled. The biggest examples would be the Dominion Rod and the Spinner.

* [[Raised Byby Dudes]]: Ashei's backstory, given briefly by her fellow Resistance members, and acknowledged even more briefly by herself when she says that this is the reason she may seem a bit rough around the edges.

* [[Schizo -Tech]]: The Goron Mines dungeon is notably industrialized compared to most other things in the game. It even contains an ''electromagnet''.

* [[Shoe Shine, Mister?]]: Paying the shoeshine boy is necessary to enter the fancy store.

* [[Shout -Out]]: Interestingly, in one scene a group of guards are shaking their spears above their heads while shouting bloody murder. The spears in question have curved, club-like ends opposite the points, similar to certain [[Star Wars|raiders of the Tuskan variety.]]

** Several from [[Super Mario Bros.]].:

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Zant claims that he should have been the rightful ruler of the Twili instead of {{spoiler|Midna and her "useless, do-nothing royal family".}} One ass kicking at the hands of Link later, Midna tells Zant that the reason the Twili didn't go along with him was because they knew he was a power hungry psychopath.

* [[Sliding Scale of Content Density vs. Width]]: Wider than ''[[Ocarina of Time]]'', but Denser than ''[[The Legend of Zelda: theThe Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Wind Waker]]''.

* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: When you first meet her, Midna doesn't give a damn about the dying people of Hyrule, only helps Link escape as a means to an end, and doesn't try to hide her amusement at Zelda's terrible plight. Over the course of the game, however, she becomes softened by the repeated proof she finds of Link and Zelda's selflessness; she warms up to them, and to the people of Hyrule in general.

* [[Spoiled Sweet]]: [[Cloudcuckoolander|Agitha, Princess of Bugs]]. She's got a lavish house and [[Impossibly Cool Clothes]], [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job|has no day job]] (to be fair, she's ''ten''), and spends Rupees like water -- butwater—but she rewards Link with Rupees for the simple task of bringing her golden bugs, her dear little friends, and appears to not have a malicious bone in her body. Aww.

* [[Suit -Up of Destiny]]: Like in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: theThe Wind Waker (Video Game)|Wind Waker]]'', Link begins the game without his trademark green tunic and hat. When he returns to his human form for the first time he is revealed to be the [[Chosen One]] and gets a [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]] Moment when he is shown in the Hero's Clothes.

* [[Title Drop]]: [[Playing Withwith a Trope|Played with]] when Midna addresses Zelda as the Twilight Princess, teasing her about her kingdom being plunged in darkness; in fact, {{spoiler|''Midna'' is the real Twilight Princess}}.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: If you listen carefully, you can hear two faint popping sounds when timid, hoplophobic little Colin puts himself in harm's way to rescue Beth; that's the sound of him finally growing a pair and cowboying up. By the end of the game, he's packing his own sword as he singlehandedly escorts his friends back home safely across monster-infested Hyrule Field.

* [[Transformation Trinket]]: Halfway through the game, Midna notes that the combination of the Master Sword and the thing Zant embedded in Link's forehead to keep him in wolf form effectively gives the player the ability to shapeshift at will -- howeverwill—however, Midna retains the final say on whether or not she'll allow the player to do so (such as if other people are nearby).

* [[Troperiffic]]: It was ''intentionally'' designed to be highly similar to ''[[Ocarina of Time]]'', as the developers knew they would have to significantly change the formula for the [[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword|next game]].

* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]: Generally averted, as there are only a few human characters that don't freak out in terror at the sight of Wolf Link, and Midna does not allow you to transform in areas where other NPCs will see him. But you're otherwise free to transform in front of animals, monsters or bosses, who simply don't care. The animals in particular tend to think wolf Link is rather cool -- acool—a squirrel in Ordon specifically says that Link smells "like the trees of Ordon" (while one of the ranch's cuccos tells him that "You stink like the guy from the ranch").

** This is somewhat of a [[Running Gag]] by now, as she shares this trait with [[The Legend of Zelda: theThe Wind Waker (Video Game)|Gonzo]] and his descendant [[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|Alfonzo]].

** And then there's Shad's liberal use of Britishisms like "I say" and "old boy."

* [[Weapon, Jr.]]: Link (only an adolescent in this game) [[Justified Tutorial|shows off]] his aiming skills with a slingshot, and his sword skills with a wooden sword.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: When you first arrive at the Hidden Village, your goal is to slaughter the bulbins inside. This sequence is accompanied by spaghetti-western [[Shout -Out]] music, camera angles and dialogue. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|But this isn't what we're talking about.]] This trope comes in during a later sequence in the same town, using the same music, angles and dialogue, as you {{spoiler|befriend kittens}}.

* [[What Happened to Thethe Mouse?]]: You never find out why {{spoiler|the kids from Ordona were kidnapped}} even though {{spoiler|finding them}} is one of Link's major drives in the first part of the game. Unexplained, it becomes [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain]], as the whole incident is what gets Link out into the world in the first place. It's possible it was merely [[For the Evulz]].

* [[Workplace -Acquired Abilities]]: As noted above under [[Chekhov's Boomerang]], the wrangling skills Link has learned from his work with the goats come in handy on two occasions during the adventure (one of which occurs when he's not even in human form, at that).

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